QUMRÂN NATIONAL PARK

The archaeological site of Qumran provides an opportunity to discover the ancient city of an Essene community, active from the ^2nd century BC to 68 AD. Between 150 and 200 people are thought to have lived here. Traces of this city were found between 1951 and 1956, during the excavations that followed the discovery of the first Dead Sea Scrolls in nearby caves.

The Essenes. The word "Essene" comes from the Aramaic word for "pious". The Essenes were a Jewish mystical community founded around the ^2nd century BC, in reaction against the Sadducees (aristocrats, members of the Jewish clergy) and the Pharisees (pious, rigorist Jews who developed the "Oral Law"). They were celibate and lived by very strict rules: the Sabbath was strictly observed, as was ritual purity (purification in cold-water baths and wearing white clothes). It was forbidden to swear, take oaths, perform animal sacrifices, make weapons, conduct business or trade. It is also said that their diet was particular in that it was not to undergo any transformation, such as cooking. It consisted essentially of bread, wild roots and fruit. Meat consumption was forbidden, as was the wearing of woollens. Goods were pooled and distributed according to individual needs. After a three-year novitiate, community members renounced earthly pleasures and entered a monastic life. Some believe that the monastic movement of Christianity grew out of this way of life. The Essene community is said to have numbered up to 4,000 members in all, spread out along the shores of the Dead Sea as well as in Jericho and Jerusalem. Around 70, after the destruction of their city by Roman legions, the Essenes disappeared completely.

A visit to the archaeological site begins with a film about Qumran. You then enter a small museum before continuing on to the site itself, following the route of the aqueduct that collected the river's waters. The buildings uncovered bear witness to a communal lifestyle: remains of meeting rooms, a refectory for communal ceremonial meals, as well as pottery workshops. Numerous ritual purification basins have been discovered, confirming the importance of the idea of purity for this sect. Built to the east of the watchtower, a cemetery contains some 1,100 graves, mainly of men.